Memphis-based singer/songwriter Jeremy Horn may still be new to the music industry, but he eagerly shares his musical gifts in his record Atmosphere, released in August 2007. The album features uplifting worship hits with lyrics that reach spiritual depth, like “First Love” and the title track, “Atmosphere.” While maintaining his passion for worship, Horn also seeks to remain connected to his fans.
Jeremy Horn: Hello BREATHEcast people! [Laughs] I’m sorry, I’m silly. I’m a nerd.
I noticed that there isn’t a whole lot of personal information about you online. Do you try to keep your private life private? Was that intentional?
No, not at all. Until you brought that up, I hadn’t even thought about that. I’m an open book, man. I’m a worship guy and a local church guy. You ask me anything you wanna ask me.
So you’ve been on tour a little bit. Do you try to stay local to be around your family?
I do everything. I pretty much go anywhere that I feel like the Lord has opened the door for me to go. I kind of have that motto. Paul planned to go everywhere until the Holy Spirit forbid him to go places, and so I have an open door policy. If the Lord opens a door for me to go to places, I’m going to go. I don’t care if there’s 10 people there or 10,000 people there. That’s not really the point. I just try to go to other local churches and to bless local churches, or if it’s arenas with Newsboys or Rush of Fools, or good friends of mine, a band called Chasen, and whoever. I’m just kind of getting started in all that. I’m green, but I love the church so I love to be out there doing it.
How was it touring with Newsboys?
I wouldn’t say I toured with them, I played some spot shows with them, but you could say that. It’s different because I wasn’t playing with a band, I was playing solo. But it’s an arena or a very large theater, and it’s a big production. When you’re at a local church you can see faces, you can touch people, you can connect to people. Playing on the Newsboys stage there’s a black stage and a big white spotlight. So where you can connect in a local church, you have to kind of give people moments – you always have to try to give people moments of the Holy Spirit, so when you’re doing that you’re just trying to make that connection and praying and asking the Lord to really open up that door. But I’ve been blessed. I’ve had some people come to me and say, “Hey, I really saw your heart up there.” Playing in that big of an arena by yourself, that really blesses the Holy Spirit that I was able to do that.
Does your family come with you on the road?
They don’t. Not at this point. I have a 2 year old little boy at home named Judah and a wife named Denise. And she’s wonderful – they’re both wonderful. It’s not really practical to take a two year old on the road. We’re expecting another one in September, another little boy. She’d rather be at home doing her whole nesting in the home thing.
Do you write all of your music? Do you ever collaborate?
I write all of my own music. I’ve probably written 3 songs in my life with other people. There’s going to be one song on my next record that’s going to be collaboration. It’s not so much that I don’t want to do that, you just have to find the right person to do it with. You’d be foolish not to. Just from a practical writing standpoint—not even a spiritual standpoint—85 % of all hit songs are co-writes. You might think you have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don’t have someone to bounce those ideas off… you don’t know if somebody might come up with something better. Paul McCartney, who is an amazing song writer, had a guy like John Lennon to bounce things off of. It seems to be a successful thing. I’m always looking for opportunities. If the Lord opened the door, I’d definitely do it.
I saw on your bio that something you learned from your executive producer Bruce Carroll was “fully exploring a lyric.”
Yeah, that’s one thing that Bruce really helped me do is to develop as a writer. Bruce, in a way, did do a lot of the production on the album in the sense of the writing side of it. He’s worked with people like Monroe Jones and Brown Bannister. I mean these guys are legendary producers who don’t let the status quo go by. Bruce is the same way. He believes in excellence, so he would make me write by the rules. In songwriting there are rules, just like if you’re an English teacher there’s the MLA Handbook, songwriting is the same way. It really helped me in my writing, to work harder to get a better line. Brenton Brown, a great song writer, said this: songwriting is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. That’s what great writers do. Shakespeare didn’t just put out his first drafts, I’m sure.
Is there a lyric of yours that particularly speaks to your heart?
There’s a few on there. I don’t take credit for my own lyric writing, I don’t take credit for very much of anything that happens. I just see myself as a conduit for the Holy Spirit. I’m sure that a lot of people that read this would know that you can’t really take credit for things that are Holy Spirit things. The best songs are the ones that tap you on the shoulder, and God taps me on the shoulder and gives me some pretty cool stuff. The title track to the record Atmosphere really speaks to that. The first few lines are “Set Your glories on display / Your honor and Your fame await You here. / Show the wonders of Your ways / The atmosphere is changed when You are near.” And the Bible says that God is enthroned upon the praises of His people. The heart of man and the mind of man didn’t come up with lines like that. I really feel like God tapped me on the shoulder and gave me that.
How do you stay so humble?
Moses said he was the humblest man ever, that’s why you can’t believe that Moses really wrote that. [Laughs] I don’t even know how to answer that question. I delight myself in the Lord and let Him give me the desires of my heart. And I mean this: He gives me the desires that I should have. For me, all of this whole music game, bag, whatever you want to call it, this industry, business – it’s a blessing to be able to and touch more people and to make an impact in peoples’ lives. And I know that sounds like I could be gaming the world right in that statement but I really, really do mean that. It might last two months, and it might last twenty years. Whatever it is, my heart’s cry, with a humble heart I say, “Jesus, just use me however You want to use me.” When this is over I’m going to go right back to being a local church guy, leading in my local church and just be happy doing that.
So you’re a youth pastor?
I’m a worship pastor at a church in Memphis called Christ The Rock. My wife is a youth pastor, but I’m a college pastor as well. So I wear two hats, we really wear three hats. It’s a pretty decent size church, so when I’m home, I have a home group at my house on Sunday nights. You could get the address and come to my house and hang out with me, and we could talk about the Lord, have time of worship and prayer, all that. That’s one of the things I’m most passionate about. I love college-aged kids. I feel like they are going through some of the hardest parts of life. 18-23 is a hard to place to live, trying to figure out what God’s calling you to do. Everybody expects you to act like an adult, and be an adult but you don’t feel like one. So I love those people.
How has the internet helped or changed your career?
It really helps because it’s a way for people who identify or connect with what you do to have a vehicle to you. I can’t be all places at all times so if somebody hears my radio single “I Will See Angels” or “First Love” on the radio, they might hear that and love that. Isn’t it amazing, you know if you’re a fan of music – I’ll give you an example, I’m a big fan of Paul Baloche, who’s here [at GMA Week in Nashville] – I got to meet him this week. It was like the personal highlight of my life, honestly. But he does the same thing: he’s a local church guy and he puts up instructional videos so I can go try to learn to play his song. So I just try to do the same thing. I try to make a connection to people and to be available to people, and to not be this untouchable, unattainable guy. You can see me, you can see me send a birthday message to my former worship pastor, or you can see me goofing off with my little boy on a video blog. Just letting people know what’s going on. People want to pray for your ministry, and support it. They want to feel like they’re a part of what you’re doing. That’s what MySpace, my website, YouTube, GodTube, allow you to do. They allow you to connect to people and to keep them informed. And the diehard fans want to know that. They want to check your site everyday, or multiple times a day to see what’s going on. So we try not to keep our website static. We really want them to be daily updated.
The guitar lessons are a great thing to do. Why not give chord charts away? Why not show people how to play the song so if they want to do it in their local church, they can already know how to play it, or worship in their own private times? It’s wonderful.
How has GMA been for you?
Really good. There are so many talented people here. I’ll tell you, one thing I’ve taken away from this entire event is, if I was just being really vulnerable and being honest, there’s so many talented people that it would be so easy for me to put my eyes on that and think I need to do more of this, or more of that and become more like those people. But I’m just really reminded that God has really called me to be who I am and do what he’s called me to do. And I’m more passionate and more hungry to go out and serve the local church, serving people and leading people to the fruits of the spirit and touching more folks. I really feel energized and encouraged that it’s not about anyone knowing the kingdom of Jeremy Horn, it’s about the kingdom of God, and I’m so thankful that God is choosing to use me to go out there and give people that.
